A Rule About the Bedroom
by Books In the Blood
Summary: Amy and Rory had a rule about the bedroom; mainly, that the Doctor was not allowed anywhere near theirs. But when that rule slowly begins to change and they find themselves sharing a bed and each others hearts, they all have different feelings about the matter. Not explicit just fluffy
1. Chapter 1

_The Doctor:_

Amy and Rory had a rule about the bedroom; mainly, that the Doctor was now allowed anywhere near theirs. The Doctor didn't really understand their insistence on it. He didn't really like locked doors on his TARDIS; weren't they all friends? What did they have to hide? It wasn't as if he was sneaking into their business. After bursting into their room one night to tell them the TARDIS had finally been repaired after a three week long stint on a desert rock of a planet he understood a bit more. They'd all been going stir crazy on that planet; there was nothing interesting about it at all. The Doctor had been so excited that he hadn't thought about what he was interrupting; even if they were asleep they would surely want to wake up for this! But after walking in on all their kissing and tangled-upness at that moment Rory had demanded the Doctor out of the room and to never come into their bedroom again. Amy had added the stipulation that he could come in but only if he knocked first and only if it was really important. And then she had thrown a pillow at him.

It hadn't bothered the Doctor. He was a bit naïve in this body but he wasn't stupid enough to not know those sorts of things were going on and it didn't bother him to see it. None of it bothered him until he had gone back to his own bedroom that night. His own dark, cold, lonely room; the room with the big empty bed and no one in it. It wasn't until then that the bedroom rule bothered him and it wasn't because he was jealous of what they were doing. Humans could be so fascinated by their mating rituals. He was bothered because he was lonely.

It bothered the Doctor but it wasn't his first bought of loneliness and he knew that he'd get along fine. Eventually he'd bounce back to his happy cheery self. But this time he didn't get to wake up the next morning and put on his normal, exuberant smile. In less than twelve hours after going to bed the Doctor's mind was turned to soup by a virus that had been building and growing inside of him for a week now, making him sicker than he had been in centuries.

It would have done him in, had Rory and Amy obeyed their own 'don't go in other people's bedrooms' rule. He'd have emerged some immeasurable time later with a newly regenerated body. Luckily, they were rude enough to barge into his room when he didn't emerge that morning and had found him in a horrible state. Most of the details of his illness he learned later from Amy and Rory when he had gotten better. While he'd been ill he was lost to the world, unconscious most of the time, only waking for brief periods of time which was really a blessing. He was in so much pain, his fever so high that he was mad; not to mention seeing how upset Amy and Rory were. They were out of their depth with the alien illness but they did their best. He was lucky to have Rory's medical knowledge, limited as it was; it'd saved his life and he was grateful. He wasn't ready to be done with this body yet.

For days he spiraled in out and delirium while Amy spoon fed him soup and water and Rory gave him medicine as best as he could and cold sponge baths to bring down his fever. After nearly a week his fever finally broke and he began to come back to himself.

Once the TARDIS stopped spinning and he could begin to think again, he had to admit that he enjoyed this a bit, in a sick, twisted way. Not the being ill; that was horrible. Even 'on the mend' he was too weak to move, much less get out of bed. But Amy and Rory were being so _nice…_ they were recovering from the shock of how it felt to nearly lose him and they allowed themselves to be kinder to him. Specifically in all the ways he liked best; squeezes of hands in his own, fingers brushing back his hair, a kiss on the cheek when they thought he was asleep. He shamefully began to pretend to be sicker than he was even when he was recovering just to lap up all of the extra attention. It was shameful, he knew; he was just so lonely and he didn't know how to get things to be this way normally. He perversely let his illness persist for a few more days; he was getting bored and he knew he had to come out of it soon anyway. On the last night he was going to let himself be bedridden, he woke in the middle of the night to find he wasn't alone in his bed.

Rory was asleep on one side of him, his back turned away; his nose whistled slightly as he dreamed. Amy was on his other side, facing him, rubbing her face and rolling around as if she was waking along with him. What was this? The Doctor began to wonder if they'd done this the entire time that he was sick; sharing the bed with him only when he'd been dying. He'd always been too embarrassed to ask but he made up in that moment that this would not be the last time.

It was one of those pure, good, incorruptible things left to the Doctor, sharing a bed with Amy and Rory. He tried to remain still as he could, soaking in everything good about it without waking either; afraid this would all end if he did. It was warm, overly warm, sandwiched between the two of them but not unpleasantly so. With his eyes closed, he could be aware of all of the little details about his companions he was always running around too quickly to notice; their individual, young innocent mind energy at the edge of his consciousness, their fresh scents, the sound of their single heartbeats (Amy's quick and quiet, Rory's heavy and steady). And he could notice things that he wouldn't have ever gotten to notice in any other circumstance; the softness of their new, human skin against his, the safe way he felt just being with them…..It had been so long since the Doctor had felt this protected and carefree in such an innocent and intimate moment.

He opened his eyes when he felt a lump forming in his throat. No, crying wouldn't do; he was fine. He had Amy and Rory now and he wasn't alone. They cared for him, had quite literally saved his life. He realized that it must have showed on his face because Amy, who was now staring at him, looked concerned.

"You alright, Doctor?" Amy asked. Her voice was quiet and crackly from sleep as she rubbed her eyes. He'd never seen her so close to sleep and he had to smile at it. He could feel Rory's feet touch his own under the blanket as he rolled over, reminding him this was real.

"Course…..thanks to you two" the Doctor said. His eyes fluttered closed and open, aching from need to sleep as he watched Amy's sleepily drop the same way.

"Hope you don't mind…..Rory just kind of passed out and I went with it" Amy admitted. Her eyes were already closed and she was half way between sleep and wakefulness.

"Other than Rory's ice cold feet, I don't mind" the Doctor teased. He let his own eyes stay closed, reaching his hand out to hold Amy's under the cover. As soon as he touched her, she rolled over into his chest and he went to sleep more at peace than he could recall in a long, long time.


	2. Chapter 2

_Amy..._

Sometimes, the Doctor snuck into her and Rory's room. It wasn't anything that they had ever discussed; she still wasn't sure how it had really come about. Amy wasn't complaining by any means. Nothing ever happened; Rory would kill the Doctor if he even tried which he never did. It was just nice; holding him, having him hold her…..the best being when she was warmly sandwiched between the Doctor and Rory. She had never desired such an arraignment; cuddling just for the sake of cuddling. But it was nice with the Doctor; he presented such a composed and confident façade to the world it was nice to be able to feel him in those moments when he was vulnerable.

She supposed that it had all started when the Doctor had been so sick. She and Rory had been in the habit of falling asleep near the Doctor during that time since he needed them so much and they were afraid of leaving him. He seemed so fragile, so breakable as his breath shuddered in and out; she was afraid if they left him, he would just stop and blow away like the wind. Before that, they'd both been rather sensitive on the matter of the Doctor and their privacy. He had a habit of just barging into rooms without regard for knocking, specifically when they were in bed. Something about that horrible illness had cemented their closeness and seemed to break down a barrier. Even so, she wasn't sure it would ever happen outside of the Doctor being so vulnerable because of his illness.

It had been an awful day and Amy felt she was just barely holding onto her resolve as she and Rory fell into bed that night. When she'd first started traveling with the Doctor, she'd had the impression that the Doctor always won, that he was always able to save the people he tried to save. And while this was mostly true, there were times that not even the Doctor could save people and it had been a hard lesson to learn first-hand. Even when she tried not to think about the events of the day, even when she closed her eyes, she could see the faces of the people, mostly children, that had died today.

It was harder for her boys, she knew. Rory felt death more keenly and deeply, being a nurse; even when someone wasn't in his care he felt he should be able to help them. And the Doctor….well, they hadn't even seen him since they had returned to the TARDIS. As soon as they had walked in the door, the Doctor had disappeared down the corridors without a word and Amy knew better than to try and follow him.

Amy and Rory held each other close without words for a long time before falling asleep. Amy fell in and out of sleep, restlessly half the night before waking up fully in the middle of the night. Blinking her sore eyes in the dark of her room, Amy found two big sad eyes staring back at her.

"Doctor?" Amy stuttered out in a hoarse voice, jumping back slightly as she struggled awake at the sight of the Doctor sitting on the floor next to the bed.

"What are you doing, Doctor?" Amy asked, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.

The Doctor looked down, away from Amy. His expression turned so sad that Amy almost wished she hadn't asked. "I…I'm just…" the Doctor whispered out so quiet she could barely hear him, "I know I'm not supposed to be here…..I just…didn't want to be alone."

Amy's already sick heart broke further inside her. Though it could never be said that the Doctor was jealous of Rory and Amy's relationship or that he wanted to interfere in it, Amy had discovered bit by bit that he did want to be a part of it. The Doctor was their biggest fan and while that meant that he wanted them together, it also meant that he wanted to be part of their lives. He wanted more and that meant allowing himself their care and affection, slowly but surely.

"Come here, Doctor" Amy said, pulling back the covers of the bed and scooting closer to Rory to make room for the Doctor.

Amy wasn't surprised when he hesitated; the whole thing was new and they were still feeling their way around it. The Doctor was a contrast between being extremely eager and holding nervously back. "But Rory….."the Doctor started before Amy could cut him off.

"Rory's fine with it and you know it. Now get up here, you" Amy insisted. It was luckily, all prodding the Doctor needed.

Amy was so tired, physically and emotionally and the Doctor's presence next to her was like a soothing balm. The Doctor settled into the space in the bed next to Amy, holding back slightly until Amy pulled him toward her. Wrapping an arm around his back, she pulled him close until his forehead was touching hers. Closing her eyes and breathing deep she simply took him in; in a shaky breath, one that wanted to let loose of the tears again, Amy let herself be comforted at the simple presence of the Doctor. He'd showered because his hair was slightly damp as she ran her fingers through it and he smelled of soap instead of smoke and death like earlier. No matter how many times she pressed her face to his neck or chest in comfort, Amy could always smell a faint scent of metal, as if the time that he watched over was like pieces of clockwork running through his veins; it never failed to make her feel calm and assured now.

"I should have saved those people. I could have done better" the Doctor's voice was barely a whisper, his breath hot against Amy's face in the dark. Amy didn't open her eyes, didn't look at him; it was only in these moments of quiet comfort, when they were all at their most vulnerable, that the Doctor could voice his true insecurities.

"You did everything you could. It wasn't your fault" Amy whispered back to him in the quiet stillness. She rubbed his back, pressed her cheek against his, looped her legs around his under the covers…there was nothing else she could say. She knew that he felt the pain and loss and nothing she could say could make it go away. But she could hold him, touch him like no one else could; she could comfort him and maybe that could be enough to help him.

The Doctor didn't say anything else either but with Amy close and warm against him, he fell asleep before she did, his face finally relaxing from its grimace of guilt.


	3. Chapter 3

Rory would never admit that he let the Doctor sleep in his bed with him and Amy. Never…..not to anyone. Inevitably, other people would get the wrong impression and think it was some weird kinky thing. Even if they didn't get the wrong idea, what did it say about him that he let another man sleep in the bed he shared with his wife? Other people wouldn't realize that what Rory had known for a long time; the Doctor wasn't just some other man. He was, after all, the Doctor; an entity into himself.

It had been Rory who had originally made up the 'no Doctor allowed in our bedroom' rule. He didn't think there was anything wrong with having such a rule. The Doctor could really be a bit much, always barging in their room while they were dressing, bathing… _not_ sleeping. He simply could not take it anymore. The Doctor had walked away like a struck puppy when he ordered him out of their room to never come back.

And then he'd had to go and bloody get sick. Rory was sure he was going to die and he'd felt so powerless. He'd done what he could but the Doctor was an alien with an alien illness and there wasn't much to be done. He and Amy had slept close to him during those nights out of necessity; he needed so much care. But more than that they were so afraid that if they left him, they'd come back to find him dead. So…they just didn't leave him.

It made sense, or at least Rory could tell himself it did, when the Doctor was sick. When he recovered, that was when Rory began to wonder what he was letting happen. The first couple of times that the Doctor had come to their room it was after a terrible day and Rory hadn't had the energy or the desire to turn him away. He'd been so raw emotionally and the Doctor seemed so sad he couldn't even think about yelling at him. Somehow, he'd nestled his way into their bed and slowly, reluctantly, deeper into their hearts.

It was too hard to turn the Doctor away then but because he'd come in so many times he started to sleep with them more. Now, he was coming to into their room when the days hadn't been stressful or life threatening. Rory really felt that now should be the time that he tuned him away but he didn't. The Doctor didn't sleep as much as he and Amy did so it wasn't like he was ruining their alone time. And Rory had to admit, at least to himself, that he liked having the Doctor around sometimes; god help him, but it was true.

Rory was unaccustomed to sleeping alone; often the Doctor was there and always Amy was. But not tonight…..she'd gone to the hospital because a friend of hers was in labor and she'd told Rory not to wait up; she'd probably be gone all night. Rory had worked late at the hospital himself and so when he came home he'd had little strength left but to take a shower and then fall into bed. He'd gone to sleep quickly but he had woken often; he wasn't used to Amy not being there. He kept reaching for her warmth and softness in the night and hadn't found it; sleep without Amy was sleep but it wasn't rest. It'd get his body through the next day but it wasn't satisfying.

Halfway through the night his grouping fingers had found skin and he felt an involuntary sigh run through his body; Amy was finally back and in his drowsy state all felt right. Her skin felt cooler than usual and Rory just took that as a cue to pull her closer to himself. Rapping an arm around her, he pulled her close to him and with closed eyes, nestled into her neck.

"I suppose Sarah had a quick labor after all?" Rory asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"Who's Sarah?"

Rory's eyes snapped open in the dark and connected with the Doctor's. His heart jumped from the surprise and he rolled backwards from the Doctor. "What are you doing here?!"Rory demanded. His breath stopped for a moment as his heart hammered in his chest; he was alarmed that the Doctor was just _here_ and so close but more than that he was alarmed that he had been so sleepy that he had almost mistaken the Doctor for Amy…..

The Doctor has the good grace to look sheepish in the darkness beside Rory. "I came looking for you and Amy….naturally….."he said a bit shyly, "I know I'm not supposed to come into your bedroom…you can blame it on the TARDIS" The Doctor gestured to the parked TARDIS in the corner of the room. "But she seemed to think this was where I needed to be. Amy's obviously not here but you seemed so…lonely….."the Doctor colored, embarrassedly, "I can leave if you'd like."

Rory closed his eyes as his fatigue washed over him. Why was he even considering letting the Doctor stay? The simple fact was he was tired and lonely and he didn't want to sleep alone. Luckily for him his fatigue was a like a drunken influence, telling him that it was okay to let the Doctor stay. Sure he'd shared a bed with the Doctor, even slept right next to him; he'd held him and cuddled close to him but always with Amy. Wouldn't sleeping with the Doctor without Amy set some kind of precedent?

No, it wouldn't…..not unless Rory himself wanted to set that precedent. If Rory wanted to think that simply sleeping next to the Doctor was weird then it would be but if he didn't make a big deal of it, then it wouldn't be a big deal. Nothing was going to happen so it wouldn't be any different than when Amy was there. He might be embarrassed about it in the morning but in his dreamy state now, not being alone was the most appealing thing he could imagine and he couldn't fight it.

"I don't want you to leave…..just don't tell anyone about this" Rory said tiredly, already reaching out toward the Doctor under the sheets. He let his hand come to a stop at the Doctor's suspenders, awake enough to feel embarrassed for more.

The Doctor closed his eyes and smiled. "I can keep secrets….I'm good at keeping secrets" he said tiredly.

Rory felt long, cool fingers close around his under the covers and pull them so that his hand rested on the Doctor's chest and Rory let it.

The Doctor was as good as his promise; he never told anyone, not even Amy. And Rory slept the rest of the night like a baby.


End file.
